A/N: I feel like I'm spoonfeeding you the others' reactions. Heeeeere comes Zuko's feelings about it, open wide…

The next morning, they try their best not to let the past evening's conflict show, but if the eyebrow raise Toph shoots Katara as they enter is any indication, they're not doing a very good job at it.

"Fire Lord Azula", Sokka begins once the greetings are done, "we have thought about our first meeting. You asked what you could offer to prove to us that you won't be preparing another war during peacetime."

That is not how I said it, Azula angrily thinks. Sure, twist my words, why don't you.

"Something along those lines", she says instead, coupled with her best condescending smile. "And have you found an answer?"

"We have", he answers. "If we reach a peace agreement, we would like to send representatives to supervise your military. That means access to your bases, sitting in on meetings, interviews with your troops, being involved in major decisions—"

"In other words", Azula interrupts him, "an occupation by any other name. No, thank you. But, if I may redirect your interesting proposal into a more constructive direction, I believe we might arrive at a compromise that you will find acceptable."

I will die before I hand over my soldiers to the likes of you.

"I propose the establishment of full diplomatic relations between our nations. With all diplomatic privileges for our ambassadors, of course. And in the process, I could arrange for your ambassadors to have access – supervised, limited access – to my military.

"It's the best you'll get", she adds when she sees protest dawn on their faces. "I will not allow your people to walk around my nation as if they own it. But your masters will want to rebuild what they've lost as well, I have no doubt. If I am to trust that you will not abuse the peace to destroy me in time, you will have to trust me."

"We will take it under advisement", General Lan-Hua states. "But there is still the matter of our stolen land."

"My colonies, you mean."

The provocation is worth it just to see him barely restrain his anger.

"I can only repeat what I proposed yesterday. If I can tolerate your people sniffing around my harbours and garrisons, surely the Earth King will be able to tolerate some of his people living under my stewardship? I will personally guarantee their safety and rights. You will be free to enter my land and convince yourself that your people are being treated fairly."

"That's still just—"

"Is the Earth King really willing to go to war again, just because the wrong flag flies over the colonies?" Azula casually lets a blue flame dance in her hand. "Because if he is, I assure you, there will be no people left for him to 'liberate'."

"This is blackmail", General Gai hisses.

"It is", Azula coldly says. "Welcome to the real world, General."

She leans back.

"You hold all the cards. You have more men, more land, you've driven me into a corner. I will fight with everything I have, so stop acting as if you wouldn't do the same in my position."

"Fire Lord Azula", Aang interjects, "these are human lives we are talking about. If your desire for peace is sincere—"

"And what about the lives of my people? If the Earth King's vanity prevents peace, what about the people who will die in defence of my nation, of their homeland? Don't patronise me, Avatar. I fight for my people just as they", she points to the other delegates, "fight for theirs."

She catches her breath.

"I am willing to make this peace treaty happen", she continues. "But I must keep my own people in mind. What, do you imagine, would happen if you and I forced nearly a hundred thousand people to abandon their lives in these colonies, lives they've lived for generations? What would happen to my nation if it suddenly had to repatriate all these people?"

She seems to have hit a nerve. The Avatar and Zuko look appropriately taken aback, whether by her concern for her people or because they haven't thought about these facts yet, she can't say.

"And what, do you believe, would happen to this peace if the angry, starving masses drove me from my throne? Do you imagine they wouldn't want to take revenge on you, who deprived them of the land they've lived on for a century, who drove them from their farms, who starved their children?"

"If the Fire Nation won't honour the peace, we will defend ourselves", Gai spits, but Lan-Hua puts a hand on his arm.

Aaand I've got them, Azula thinks to herself.

"It is in the interest of all of us", she delivers the killing blow, "that we find a measured solution at a later date. In the meantime, I believe the Earth Kingdom cannot ask for more than what I've offered. Your people will enjoy peaceful lives like my own, under my protection. And if there are any problems, your ambassadors will be able to bring them to my attention immediately."

If they accept that a return of the colonies is out of the question, it's certainly a sweeter deal than they could have asked for, Azula reasons. She gets to tout the keeping of the colonies as a success for now, they get to celebrate the end of all sanctions against their people as their achievement.

"I believe", General Lan-Hua begins, "that this is beyond the scope of what we've been authorised to accept on His Majesty's behalf."

"If that's all, General, I believe I can help you. My staff will gladly help you to a messenger hawk."

"Thank you… Your Highness."

She summons a servannt, and General Gai is led away towards the aviary, briefly being stopped by the Avatar for some whispered words Azula can't make out.

"And on the subject of amenable offers", Azula continues once he's gone, "shall we talk about prisoners? I imagine that you won't have any objections to."

"What did you have in mind?"

Azula motions towards Katara, and Katara unfurls a scroll for her to read.

"There are currently almost ten thousand enemy prisoners in Fire Nation custody", Azula starts to read. "Of those, about six thousand five hundred are Earth Kingdom soldiers, five hundred Water Tribesmen from the North, two hundred from the South, and the rest are Earth Kingdom civilians."

It's a big revelation, and the reaction doesn't disappoint.

They're all asking, 'is it someone I know?', Azula grins internally. Everyone they lost who could be dead or alive might be among those.

"I would be curious to know how many of my people are in your prisons."

"I don't have the latest numbers", Lan-Hua begins after a pause, "but I believe the number might be around four thousand soldiers. Civilian prisoners are the responsibility of individual governors or commanding officers."

"In that case, I am willing to release 'around four thousand' of your soldiers, plus however many of my citizens you hold." That's the tomato-carrot, now for the stick. "And I would release all of them if the Earth Kingdom will agree to my proposal regarding the colonies."

At that, Elder Suljuq speaks up.

"The Water Tribes don't hold any of your people, Your Highness. We have nothing to bargain with for the release of our people."

Naturally. Imprisoning firebenders in prisons that melt would be foolish.

"Don't worry, Elder", Azula drawls. "To foster a better relationship between our nations, I will gladly release… say, half of your few hundred as well, at no cost to the Earth Kingdom."

It's only seven hundred people. A negligible bargaining chip. She's shown generosity towards him, and yet made the release of the other half dependent on the Earth Kingdom's cooperation.

Divide and conquer.

"That would be acceptable", he nods, after briefly whispering with Sokka.

"Very well. What do you say, then, General? Will the Earth Kingdom accept as well?"

"We do", Lan-Hua agrees, "contingent on the Earth King's approval. If His Majesty rejects your withholding of the colonies, I'm afraid we won't have anything else to negotiate about."

"Of course. Then all we have to do is wait for his answer. Shall we defer until tomorrow?"

"Agreed."

"Alright."

"That went well", Azula remarks once the doors of her chambers close behind them. "I suppose you were right. They certainly seemed more open to my proposals today."

"Maybe next time you'll trust me", Katara pointedly says.

"Fine, fine, I'm sorry." Azula waves dismissively. "I take it back."

"See? Was that so hard?"

"Don't push it."

For once, they have lunch. Afterwards, Katara sits on the balcony and tries to draw the passing birds while Azula immerses herself in prison reports. Katara is just trying to capture the likeness of a cockatoo-hawk perching on a tree opposite her when they hear someone knocking, followed by sounds of a scuffle outside. Azula and Katara arrive at the same time, and Azula gestures for Katara to hide out of sight before she opens the door.

"Zuko", she greets when she finds him outside. "Mind telling me what is going on here?"

Zuko struggles against the guards holding him.

"They wouldn't let me talk to you."

Azula raises an eyebrow. "And you're here without an escort because…? Not that I'm surprised you of all people managed to sneak out, but if you wanted to talk to me, breaking the rules isn't exactly helpful."

"Well, I'm here now." He tries to break free from the guards' grip and Azula motions for them to release him. "And we need to talk."

"No, thank you."

"Azula—"

"If you want to challenge me to an Agni Kai over that, it'll have to wait, too."

She starts closing the door.

"AZULA! Stop being a coward and talk to me!"

She freezes. Turns around slowly.

"Never", she hisses, "call me a coward again if you want to live." She shrugs and holds the door open. "Make it brief."

Once inside, he wastes no time getting to the point, and it's exactly what she expects.

"What the hell is going on with you and Katara?"

"None of your business. Is that all?"

"No it isn't!", he snaps. "I don't buy your act. 'Ohh look at me, I'm Azula, I'm such a good person now.' Bullshit. I want to know what you're really playing at, and I'm sure Katara is the key."

Oh how right you are… not so stupid anymore, is he?

"If you want to question my character, you'll need to do it alone. I don't engage in off-the-record negotiations. Goodbye, Zuzu."

She's halfway to the door to summon the guards.

"That's your hand on her face, isn't it?" She freezes mid-step and immediately knows that she's betrayed her feelings. "Doing like our father? Burning people's faces?"

She spins around and slams him against the wall before he knows what's happening.

"Don't speak about Father like that", she hisses. "Keep doing that and I'll make sure you regret it."

Of course, Zuko draws all the wrong conclusions immediately. She can see it in his eyes (his eye?) before he says it.

"I knew it", he triumphantly announces. "I knew you didn't mean what you said about him. You're still just the same, just like him."

"Don't", she warns him, "don't bring Father into this. I am not him, and I will never be him. Do not test my patience and insult me by comparing me to him."

She lets go of him and steps back.

"Do you know what Father would do? He would burn the Earth Kingdom to the ground, even if it cost every last of our men. He would kill himself and every one of his subjects, rather than let the enemy have a single foot of his land."

Her voice softens and settles back in that ever-provocative tone; that deceptively softness that she knows gets under his skin so well.

"You should be grateful I am here and he is not. None of you would be alive if he were still Fire Lord."

"Too many people aren't alive because you're Fire Lord", Zuko fires back. "And you still haven't told me about Katara. You did that to her, right? What did you do to make her work for you? Threats? Blackmail? Lies?"

"That", Azula threatens, "is none of your business."

"Oh yeah? Well, I can make it your problem. All I have to do is convince the others you're lying, and the deal will be off the table."

"Oh, really." She laughs. "And I suppose you would accept the blood of your people on your hands? Face it, Zuko, this is still your nation and you still care for it. I've seen the way you look when you think nobody's noticing."

His pained grimace betrays him, struggling between choices, and she smiles. Bingo. I can still play him.

"I would", he eventually declares. "If that's what it takes to stop you. The world is better off without the Fire Nation, and if I have to destroy it, so be it."

"And now you sound like daddy dearest", she points out. But his threat is credible, and it is one she can't afford him to act on…

She snaps her fingers. "Katara!"

Katara emerges from around the corner, and she sees Zuko's eye widen at the realisation that she's been listening in the whole time.

"Katara—"

"I'm here, Zuko. And, I'm sorry, but… I don't really know what to tell you that Azula hasn't already."

"I need to talk to you, alone."

"Anything you want to say to me, you can say in front of her."

He smiles a joyless smile. "You'll understand if I don't take your word for it while she's right here."

"She has ears", Azula pointedly remarks. "Didn't mother teach you that it's rude to talk about others while they're there?"

"Like you'd know what she taught me!", Zuko snaps, but Katara holds up a hand.

"If you think that'll change anything… fine." She turns to Azula. "We'll take the drawing room. Be right back."

True to her word, she is right back. Once alone, Zuko insists that whatever hold Azula has over her can be broken, tries his best to figure out what it is she thinks she owes Azula, but after a few minutes of refusing to answer his questions, he runs out of ideas ("She's had the Dai Li under her control, how do you know you're not brainwashed?") and relents. When they return, Azula has settled onto one of the dining room chairs and is reading a report from the Minister of Agriculture, pretending as though Zuko isn't even there.

"I'll find out", Zuko vows while Katara leads him to the door. "You hear that, Azula? I'll find out! You haven't changed a bit; you've always lied and manipulated!"

Azula silently stands up and follows. Exchanges a wordless look with Katara, receives assent, and takes a risk.

"I owe Katara my life."

Derailed mid-sentence by this unexpected admission, Zuko searches for words and finds none. Azula opens the door and waves the guards closer to take him back to his quarters.